Living in a different world
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Have you ever had a culture shock experience?
When I was in 9th grade I went to a school called Urbana, and this was known as an extreamly preppy public school.
I mean everyone wore Pollos, the kids drove nice cars to school, I mean it was by far the preppiest school in the area.
But something happened where when I entered into 10th grade the school district got redistricted and I got moved to actually the rival school of Urbana called Linganore.
And Linganore was known to be a very country school,
I mean it was in the middle of a corn field,
They had take your tractor to school day
Everyone wore cammo
I remember my first time I went to a homecoming dance a guy I was in class with asked me if I wanted to go Mud bogging after (I didn’t even know what that was)
But I remember for the first week it was like I entered a different world- I felt like I was in a movie.
But you know I had to learn how was I going to live in this new world that was very different than what I was used too
And as a side note I ended up liking this school way better
But you know this past week I was thinking about the world we live in.
And how we live in a world that is very different than how God intended it.
I mean we live in a world where there is sickness, death, war, people say hurtful things, and ultimately we see that a lot of times it seems like we have a world that seeks a lot of other things other than God.
And so the question that comes up is how do we live in a world that a lot of times is very different then how God intended it to be.
How do I live in my community that is very different than how God intends it to be?
And for some of this it is a more personal thing: how do I live with a neighbor that is not living like God has called?
How do I live in a family, that is not at all what God has called it to be?
And so today we are going to be looking at where the Israelites are, because if you were with us last week we saw that the Israelites we taken over and almost all of them were exiled to this area called Babyloin.
And Babyloin was a very prosperous area, but it was also a place that was very different than how God desired it to be.
They did not worship God and we actually see people get in trouble for following God.
And so the question that comes to these people are now that we are in exile, now that we live in this land that is different then when God desires it to be; How do we live?
And so we will be looking at 3 different scenes in Daniel 1-6 and Jeremiah 29-31 but the areas we are focusing on deal with the four specific people named Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who we see setting an example for us on how we can live even when the world is very different.
So we will be starting in Daniel 1:8-16 and just to give a little background these four guys were considered some of the best in the Israelite nation and because of this they were chosen to serve on the kings court, but before they were able to they had to go through this three year assimilation process to make sure they were loyal to Babyloin.
And so one of the first things they did was they began to feed them the kings food (which sounds great), but this food was also offered as a sacrafice to false gods, which in the Old Testament made it unclean
And so look what happens it says this in Daniel 1:8-16:
8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.” 11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
So they are trying to feed them this food, but Daniel says hold on this food is considered unclean which is an issue because God has asked us not to eat it.
And so what happens is Daniel ask the official to allow them to eat vegitables for 10 days to see how they compare to the other men eating the kings food
Because if they started to look weaker the king could come a kill the official for not feeding them the right way.
And whats amazing is that at the end of the ten days they actually looked better then the others who ate the kings food.
And so they were aloud to eat vegetables instead of the kings food,
And this seems like such a small things right, and your probably thinking so what they are eating vegetables… So what?
And the point I am trying to make is that everyone needs to become a vegan, but what I want you to notice that these guys are standing out where people can tell they are different.
You know as Christ followers we are called to be people who stand out.
Not where we are awkward, (although you can be awkward…) but where people encounter us and on almost every level (wether it is a big area or small area in our life) we are a people that look like Jesus.
Where people see us and think somthing is different about that person
Its kind like if I showed you all these balloons and I said pick the one that looks different.
You would probably be able too right? because you would say Pastor that one is blown up,
And this is I want you to get, because in a sense when we accept Christ we should look different, because we have been filled with God’s spirit, The God we see breathing life into man in Genesis and He is breathing His spirit in us today.
Where the people we encounter should say there is somthing different about that person.
And I am not saying that people who are not Christians are bad people, but if we are following Jesus, then people should see Jesus.
People should see the hope we have.
I mean if we have accepted Christ there is a level where we should be people who stand out.
So first point stand out, and lets look at the next part in Daniel 3:13-18 because the king of Babyloin named Nebuchandnezzaer, created this massive statue, and he orders everyone to worship it,
but this is another issue, because they know they shouldn’t be worshiping anything but God,
And so we see Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, not bowing to this statue and look what happens because it says:
13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
You know I love this because they do not just stand out, but when they face something wrong they actually stand up.
They say we will not worship a false God because it is wrong.
You know if we have accepted Christ we are called to be a people that stand up against things that are wrong.
We should be people who actively stand up against sex trafficking, We should be people that stand up against racial injustice, we should be people that take a stand when there are people who are marginalized
And stand up in a way Jesus would, not just scream at people or fight,
I mean it is important to stand up when there are things against God’s will, but I also need to say is we cannot just do this in society and not our own lives.
I mean I think about Liam right, he loves to point out when others are in the wrong.
I mean he loves to point out when something is not far
He actually loves pointing out if I sit where Arika normally sits and he wants me to move
But whats amazing is if the he is doing something wrong he never wants to hear about it.
He stands up for things around him, unless they effect him.
But you know I have a fear that sometimes Christians look like toddlers
Because we stand up against things happening in society that are different then what God desires (which is a good thing),
but then in our personal lives we are not taking a stand in the areas that are different then where God is calling us.
Because we need to be people who stand up against things in our own lives
We should be addressing when we are not loving like Jesus
We should stand up when we realize sexual immorality is a problem in our life
We should be taking a stand when we have a greed or anger issue.
I mean I just have to say we need to be people who take a stand.
And I want you to notice in the story it places Shadrack, Mishach and Abenego in a tough place,
Because it says they might get thrown in a furnace.
I have never had that threat made towrd me but that sounds scary!
I mean it can be scary to take a stand because people might disagree with you
It can be scary to take a stand personally because sometimes it means we need to be vulnerable, but we need to be people who are able to take a stand.
And look what happens because they are thrown in the fire and tied up but then in Daniel 3:24-25 it says:
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” 25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
So we see them place themselves in this vulnerable place, but whats amazing is there is another person in the fire with them, that most people agree this is Jesus.
And we see them actually getting out of the fire without a burn or even smelling like a fire.
But here is the thing when you stand up it can be scary whether its a personal thing or something larger, but God walks with you through those situations with you.
And so lets look at the last scene, because we talked about standing out, standing up, and I want to finish with standing firm.
Because fast forwarding a little there is a new king and he issues a decree that for 30 days no one can worship anything other than him (he was really humble)
But this is another issue right? because like we already talked about we are not supposed to worship anything other than God.
And so Daniel says no, and we see him continue to pray to God and look what happens because in Daniel 6:13-17
Daniel 6:13–17(NIV)
13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
15 Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”
16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”
17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.
And so this edict goes out and whats amazing is the first thing Daniel does is he actually goes to pray to God and continues to pray to him three times a day.
And he actually gets thrown into a Lions den because of this.
But whats amazing despite this Daniel stands firm.
Because he realizes if he begins to pray to anything but God he will walk away from the true god.
And I have to say this, but when there are things that direct us away from God,
When our need for the newest thing directs us away from God
When our pride directs us away from God
We need to be people who are constantly getting redirected to Him.
I mean I remember swimming in college and my best event was the mile.
And I learned to always listen to my coach when I was swimming, Because there were always distractions.
There were times I would see a friend telling me to go faster or to slow down
There were times where where someone would go out really fast and then die out, but I would be tempted to go fast with them.
But I learned that I needed to listen to my coach because they understood the situation better then myself
He probably knew me better then myself.
But you know in our lives we face a ton of distractions that a lot of times will pull us away from God and we need to learn what voices do I listen to in order to stay focused on where God is desiring me.
And today as we close I just want to read something Jeremiah writes in Jeremiah 30:8-9
Because we have talked about how do we live in a place that is very different then God’s design
and like we have talked about this is important, because this is where we live today.
But one of things Jeremiah reminds the people of is found here and he says this:
8 “ ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. 9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
Jeremiah tells them I know there is pain where you are right now, but there is a day I will deliver you.
And he is telling them this for them being in exile, but its really pointing to an event in the future as well, where this impacts us today.
Because in a way he is saying I know there is pain in the fallen world we live in, but there is a day that we will be delivered.
And its referring to Jesus’s coming, and not only that, but it looks forward to the day where Jesus comes back create a world where there are no longer things that way us down,
There is no longer sickness, pain or death,
And I know that this doesn’t go along with my “stand theme” but the last part we need to understand this morning is there is hope.
The world may not look like it should, but there is hope
Our community may not look like it should but there is hope
Your family might even not, but (what?) there is hope
And it is found in Jesus.
Will you pray with me?